Container sealing means



NOV. 9, E GUINET V CONTAINER SEALING MEANS Filed June 28, 1950 INVENTOR.E age/1e u/nef ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent CONTAINER SEALING IVIEANS Eugene Guinet, Lyons,France,.assignor to William Jacques Herter, Great Neck, N. Y.

This invention relates to contailer sealing means or cap-sealsapplicable to bottles, jars and other containers, particularly thosehaving an aperture defined by an annular wall.

'Objects of the invention include the provision of a sealing means orcap which is easy and cheap to manufacture from various flexible sheetmaterials including plastics which are neutral, odorless and tasteless,may be readily and quickly applied to and removed from the container bymanual or mechanical means, and provides an etlicient liquidandvapor-tight seal without requiring the exertion of considerable stress.Another object is to provide such a cap with a tamper-proof means.

A more specific object lies in the provision of such a cap-seal which isso conformed that, upon its application to a container, the increasedpressure prevailing in the container as a result of the application ofthe seal, will be effective to force the seal into tight engagement withthe container.

Essentially, the cap-seal may comprise a coaxial pair of spaced, innerand outer, annular skirt portions interconnected at one end by atransversely extending annular portion and so conformed, proportionedand spaced that the seal may be snugly yet freely fitted over the neckor the like of the container with said transverse annular portionapplied against the outer end surface'of said neck and with said neckenclosed between said spaced skirts, and that the increased pressurewhich prevails within the container as a result of this application ofthe seal thereto will act to spread out and apply said inner skirtagainst the inner wall of the neck, and at the same time apply saidouter skirt into tight engagement with the outer surface of the neck.

In a preferred embodiment the seal may be formed from an integral blankwhich is centrally dished to provide an inwardly projecting cuplike partthe vertical side walls of which will provide the above-mentioned innerskirt adapted to be applied against the inner periphery of the neck,while a peripheral part of the blank is formed with a flange extendingin parallel spaced relation with said vertical wall of the centraldished part so as to provide the outer skirt adapted to be appliedagainst the outer neck periphery, said central cuplike part beingprovided with certain characteristics as to shape and thickness, to bedefined later, such that the previously-mentioned pressure increase inthe container resulting from the application of the seal will cause thecontainer neck to be tightly clamped between the inner and outer skirtsof the seal, the former being spread out and the latter closed inagainst said neck.

The above and further objects, features and advantages of the inventionwill appear from the ensuing disclosure, relating to some specificembodiments thereof given by way of indication and not of limitationwith reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is an axial cross-section of the neck of a bottle having myimproved sealing means applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a corresponding view of a similar sealing means furtherprovided with a tamper-proof appendage;

Fig. 3 is a corresponding view of a slightly modified embodimentprovided with a different form of tamperproof means;

Fig. 4 is a view in elevation of a seal according to the inventionincluding an outer cover;

Fig. 5 is a view in elevation of another embodiment of a seal with atamper-proof appendage.

2,693,892 atented 9, 54.

As shown in the drawings, a sealing means according toth'e inventionessentially comprises, an outer skirt 2 provided at the bottom orfreeend with an'inwardly' projecting bead 3, the neck 4 offthe bottle tobe' sealed being assumed'to be formedwith a"complementary annular'groove 5. The central part of the seal is dished to form a cuplike part6 having a diameter such that the bottle-neck 4 can be. inserted in aneasy sliding fit between the outer skirt 2'and thefinner skirt orvertical wall'7 of the cuplike" part. The bottom of the cuplike part6'is'convexassho'wn and it preferably gradu-' ally decreases inthickness I fro'mlits periphery to its I centre.

It will beunderstofod' that, as the seal is applied to the bottle, thepressure of 'air or gasentrapped and compressed between the bottom ofthe..part 6 .and the liquid level 'in the container neckj4 will cause adistortion of saidpart 6, its bottom being flattened out sometimes tothe point of becoming concave, whereby its side wall 7 forming the innerskirt of the seal is forced outand applied, against the inner wall ofthe neck in tight sealing relationship, therewith. Simultaneously thisdistortion causes the outer flange 'or skirt 2 to close in and its bead3 is applied into and against the annular groove 5 in the outer wall ofthe neck 4 forming another tight seal at this point/"The neck is thustightly clamped between the two skirts 2 and '7 of the seal. The elfectwould be similar if the outer surface of the bottleneck were smoothrather than being formed with the groove 5, the bead 3 of the rlange 2then being omitted.

to prevent the possibility of the seal being removed by an unauthorizedperson without being destroyed and thus to avert the possibility of thecontents of the container being tampered with, my invention provides forvarious arrangements now to be described.

Thus, as shown in Fig. 2, the outer skirt 2 may be extended downwardlyby an integral band or extension 8 which may be made of a similarmaterial as the seal itself but much 'thinner gauge, and in whichweakened lines are provided as indicated for instance by the stippledlines a and b. Thus removal of the seal from the bottleneck 4 willnecessarily require and/or cause the band 8 to be torn.

Alternatively as shown in Fig. 3, a circumferential chamfer 9 may bemachined in the top transverse annular portion which interconnects theinner and outer skirts, this portion being in this case providedconsiderably heavier, as shown. Crimped in this chamfer 9 after the sealhas been finally affixed to the container is a very thin circulardiaphragm 10 which will be necessarily broken upon removal of the sealfrom the bottleneck. Rather than being crimped in a circumferentialchamfer as shown, the guarantee diaphragm 10 may of course be directlyspun in the cuplike part 6 of the seal.

To improve the seals outer appearance, it may as shown in Fig. 4 haveplaced over it an outer cover or cap 12 adapted at the same time to fitover the top of the neck 4 of the bottle. The cover 12 may be providedwith a tamperproof extension or band 13 similar to the extension 8 shownin Fig. 2, molded integrally with or secured to the cover 12.

Fig. 5 shows a cap-seal according to any of the foregoing embodimentsprovided with a tamperproof band 15 somewhat similar to the band 8 ofFig. 2, but which comprises only a small removable annular area 16defined by the circumferential lines 0 which may constitute stippled orchequered areas or the like. Thus, after the seal has been removed, themajor part of the tamperproof band or cover may be retained, thusimproving the appearance of the bottle-sealing means.

It will be understood that various modifications and departures may bemade in and from the details illustrated and described without exceedingthe scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. The shapeand depth of the cuplike part 6 may be greatly varied. So may thematerials used in manufacturing the seal.

What I claim is:

l. A permanently resilient and flexible capseal for a container havingan opening defined by an annular walljsaid eapseal being formed from anintegral blank and exhibiting its said resilient and flexible characterat room temperature, said capseal comprising a coaxial pair of spacedinner and outer annular skirt portions adapted-to enclosesaid annularwall therebetwee'n, said outer""skirt"portion being -shorter "in' length'than the inner 'skirt' portion and having "an "inwardly projectingthickened beaded-portionat its free edge, a transversely curved endportion interconnecting said skirtportions at *the upper ends thereofand forming an annular channel U-shaped'in'cross-section," which isadapted to seat=on-the top of said "annular container wall,a downwardlyconvex cuplike sealing portion extending from the lower part ofthe'inner'skirt "portion, said downwardly convex cuplike portion" taperingin'thickness from its periphery to 'its'center'and being'adapted' as aresult of upward pressure from within the container to fiatt'e'n andthereby move aportion of the'inne'r skirt outwardly toform-a tighterseal against the container Wall.

2. A capseal according toclaiml which -includes a tamper-proof elementintegral with said capseal.

3. A-capseal'according to clairrrZ wherein said tamperproof-elementisa'bad' integral" with the outer skirt portion and extends downwardlytherefrom, said band being divided from the outer skirt portion by aweakened line along-which'the band isseparable' from said outer skirtportion;- and said capseal, aftenremoval-of said bgnd, being'reusable asacapseal' in the manner recited a ove.

4. A capseal according to claim 2 wherein said tamperproof elementcomprises a thin diaphragm extending across the upper end of thecapseal.

5. A capseal according to claim 1 which includes a cover for saidcapseal and a tamper-proof separable band integrally secured to saidcover and extending downwardly therefrom.

6. A capseal according toclaim 5 wherein said tamperproof band engagesthe outer side of the container wall and'isattached to thecoverthrough'a circular strip, said strip being'reinovable to permitremoval of the cover whlile permitting the band to remainon saidcontainer wa References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATESPATENTS Number Name I Date 1 1,747,760 Duffy et a1. Feb. 18, 19301,857,853 McMann May 10, 1932 1,972,542 Teichmanri Sept.- 4, 19342,056,778 Fabrice Oct. 6,1936 2,099,056 Ferngren Nov. 16, 19372,261,875" D'n'nn Nov. 4,11941 2,325,309 De Swart July 27, 19432,361,464 Edwards et al Oct. 31, 1944 2,367,317 Thomas Jan. 16, 19452,396,337 Moore Mar. 12, 1946 2,487,400 Tupper Nov. 8, 1949'

